Why Climate Has to Stop being Political Theater

David Nage
Jul 21, 2017 · 5 min read

It wasn’t even 8am EST this past Wednesday morning in NYC as I began my 3 block walk to the train for work; my shirt already appeared to be painted to my body after the first block, my brows began mightily to emulate sand bags preventing the sweat from entering my eyes and my hands became wind shield wipers for my forehead. I get it you say — another New Yorker complaining about the summer heat — we ALWAYS complain about something you say (partially true…ok, very true), but this all feels different.

The average high for New York City during this time of year is 83 degrees F

Temperatures had soared above 90 degrees across much of the tri-state by early afternoon on July 21st, with a recording of 98 degrees at Newark Liberty International Airport according to the National Weather Service. LaGuardia and Kennedy had also hit 98, while Central Park hit 94 degrees; a full 10 degrees higher than the average normal for this time of year. In Washington DC, same thing; today, July 21st DC will hit 97 degrees F when the average is 88 degrees.

NASA, NOAA Data Show 2016 Warmest Year on Record Globally; Earth’s “2016 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern record-keeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Globally-averaged temperatures in 2016 were 1.78 degrees Fahrenheit (0.99 degrees Celsius) warmer than the mid-20th century mean. This makes 2016 the third year in a row to set a new record for global average surface temperatures.”

In California and New Jersey there are current wildfires that are burning people out of their homes and destroying land: A wildfire that started about 10 miles outside the borders of Yosemite National Park grew Thursday to more than 109 square miles and destroyed 99 structures, 50 of them homes, fire officials said. “The fire is burning in drought-stricken chaparral and in an area of severe tree mortality,” according to the agency’s official report.

Think this all doesn’t affect you? Think again…this is today, right now:

It is costing you and I billions of dollars every time we have a sub division ripped away by a tornado or when a massive flood destroys hundreds of homes. Let’s look at the economic impact of all of this — that’s dollars and cents coming out of your pocket whether you’re a Democrat, Republican or “I don’t want to be affiliated with a party…person”.

Here are the weather and climate events that have had the greatest economic impact from 1980 to 2017: The U.S. has sustained 212 weather and climate disasters since 1980 where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion (including CPI adjustment to 2017). The total cost of these 212 events exceeds $1.2 trillion.

In 2017 (as of July 7), there have been 9 weather and climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each across the United States. These events included 2 flooding events, 1 freeze event, and 6 severe storm events. The 1980–2016 annual average is 5.5 events (CPI-adjusted); the annual average for the most recent 5 years (2012–2016) is 10.6 events (CPI-adjusted). During the first half of 2017 (January-June), the U.S. experienced a rapid succession of disaster events, which follows the near-record number of billion-dollar disasters that impacted the U.S. in 2016.

As an Investor I spend a lot of time thinking about risks; I review and make determinations of risks all the time — is there fierce competition in the industry that could negatively affect the company I’m reviewing, are their regulatory risks associated; the list goes on and on. A new one to the list a few years back: climate. Why? Look below.

I don’t usually listen to political pundits taking about issues much — I refer to market forces and data. A great barometer in my opinion regarding risks is what the insurance and reinsurance companies are focusing on. Whether they’re paying for hurricane cleanup or reimbursing farmers for lost livestock and crops, insurers foot much of the bill for disasters associated with climate change.

The chart above shows just how big that bill can get; the cost of insured weather catastrophes has been soaring far faster than inflation. Just about every company in the property and casualty insurance business carefully tracks climate data these days (the data for the chart above, for example, comes from Swiss Re).

Lastly, if you’re skeptical about all of this and say to yourself “this climate stuff is a liberal agenda to impose more government regulations and impede free markets” ask our military what they think about the changing climate and how concerned they are. At his confirmation hearing, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis called climate change a “driver of instability” that “requires a broader, whole-of-government response.” (read more here)

This topic must stop being politicized because it has done absolutely nothing positive for anyone; it is not one parties topic of choice or issue to be used to drum up support for their next election run; this is not a D or R issue…this is an US issue. When we as a society come together to innovate or solve a problem we have been able to do fairly remarkable things…like this:

)

David Nage

Written by

Principal @ Arca; former Family Office Investor; focused on the revolution associated with cryptoassets & blockchain

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade